Coffee at the Cosmo at the Cosmosphere

Coffee at the Cosmo on September 19 is a program called, “We Came in Peace for All Mankind: The Untold Story of the Apollo 11 Silicon Disc.” It is from 9-10 a.m. and is free to the public. The Cosmosphere is at 1100 N. Plum in Hutchinson.

The disc was left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts and includes goodwill messages and statements from the leaders of 73 countries. At the top of the disc is the inscription: “Goodwill messages from around the world brought to the Moon by the astronauts of Apollo 11.” Around the rim is the statement: “From Planet Earth — July 1969.”

NASA administrator Thomas Paine corresponded with world leaders to enshrine their messages, which were photographed and reduced to 1/200 scale ultra microfishe silicon etching. The disc rests in an aluminum case on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility.

The disc is about the size of a half-dollar coin and also carried the names of the leadership of Congress, the four committees responsible for legislation related to NASA, and NASA’s top management..